Chapter Fifteen

Ivan reached out, but rejection swept all over him as Shawn moved backward, not wanting him to touch him, Ivan's hand trembling, desperate to touch the one person who still held his heart captive. "Shawn, Alex, and I were never a thing in the first place. I never knew he was into boys and also liked me, we were just talking and he kissed me, I was too shocked to stop it until you came. You never gave me a chance to talk about it. You looked at me with anger and disgust, avoided me like a plague. That kiss opened my eyes and made me think things differently. It's my fault, I'm going to admit it, it's always been about me, about the paths I've been too terrified to tread. Dammit! I missed the little moment we had."

The vulnerability in Ivan's voice mirrored Shawn's own, shattering the walls they had built between them. The magnetism that had drawn them together in their youth was stronger than ever, demanding their reconciliation.

As if by an unspoken command, Ivan closed the physical